1. Technical Field
Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to an image forming apparatus in which a toner image on an image bearer is transferred onto a recording medium in a transfer nip defined by the image bearing member and a transfer device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method in which a transfer bias is applied to a transfer nip formed opposite to an image bearer to transfer a toner image on a surface of an image bearer onto a recording medium. In such a configuration, when using a recording medium having a coarse surface such as Japanese paper (also known as Washi), a pattern of light and dark according to the surface condition of the recording medium appears in an output image. Toner does not transfer well to such embossed surfaces, in particular, recessed portions of the surface. As a result, the image density at the recessed portions is lower than the image density at projecting portions. This inadequate transfer of the toner appears as the pattern of light and dark patches in the resulting output image.